A Massage For Snape
by Emrys MK
Summary: Severus takes a much-needed holiday and finds that getting away can be pleasurable, especially when someone as talented as Harry Potter... SS/HP


"**A Message for Snape"  
By: Sev1970/MK Malfoy  
August 05, 2004**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything HP-related, but wish i did,

~*~*~

After checking in at the posh, yet nondescript resort he had reservations for, Severus decided to go for a walk and clear his mind; it was amazing how much stress traveling induced when one was accustomed to the dark and quiet that the dungeons of Hogwarts provided.

Once he had deposited his luggage, and made sure that he had been given a room that met his requirements (no children within shouting distance), he found himself strolling along the beachfront, which was sparsely populated with people, but as term was about to begin for students, the peak vacation period was waning, a fact which cheered Severus. If he had to be here, he wanted it to be peaceful.

He had shed his robes, but only with the utmost reluctance. Had it been up to him, of course, he would have remained in his comfortable robes, but after a bit of thought, he didn't think he would fit in very well walking along the shoreline with billowing robes trailing behind him in the water. He did not wish to attract attention; to the contrary, he wanted nothing more than to fade into the landscape. Now that he was out in the boiling heat, he had to admit that it was rather more humid and hot than he had expected, thus he was not as mortified as he had thought he'd be clad in khaki pants and a white short-sleeved shirt. In fact, he reluctantly admitted to himself it felt nice not being weighted down in his school attire.

After an hour of walking, he returned to his room and walked out on his balcony to eat the dinner he had ordered earlier. Sitting down, he wistfully looked out over the resort and saw many families with young children in the midst of various activities: Some were swimming, others were eating, and there were a group of small kids doing what Severus thought resembled what the Muggles called Karaoke. He sighed and returned his attentions to his food. It never did him any good to dwell on what wasn't; he needed to concentrate on what was.

And what he was, was lonely, but that was not what he wanted to think about. Yet, he couldn't help it. He'd been that way his entire life, but rather than trying to correct this fact by getting out and being social, he instead closed himself in his dungeons and scoffed whenever others tried to get him to do something with them. Severus Snape did not have fun, period.

After eating, and after the house-elves had cleared the table, Severus went inside and sat down, deciding what he wanted to do next. Just as he was comfortable, his doorbell rang. _Who could possibly __be needing__ me at this hour?_ Grumbling to himself, the grumpy man stalked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Seeing a young girl, probably about seventeen, with the resort logo on her shirt, Snape let out a small growl, then opened the door slightly. "Yes?" he spat out, not at all pleasantly. The young girl merely smiled. Severus wanted to smack her across the face. Why was she perky? She was working in a damned resort doing menial tasks for rich, pompous folk, not at all unlike himself. She had every right to be miserable.

"I am here to remind you that you will be receiving a complimentary massage if you so wish, Mr Snape."

"A massage? Whatever would I want a massage for?"

"Err, I don't know, but surely a man such as yourself has many responsibilities, and finds yourself pushing yourself too hard. I know many men who come here think just as you do, but let me assure you, Mr. Snape, that our masseuse is excellent and will leave you feeling like a new man," finished the girl, flashing her pearly-white teeth and smiling… flirting.

Snape inwardly rolled his eyes: Yes, this was definitely a sales pitch for him to want further massages after the initial one. He knew he should politely decline and shut the door in the young girl's face, but then he thought that yes, he was a bit tense, especially after his stressful day. He had no wont of some stranger massaging his body, but well, yes, he was rather tired and thought a massage might be just what he needed, and hadn't Albus told him to try to let loose somewhat? "Very well. What time will they be here?"

"In an hour, sir," answered the now much-too-pleased sounding girl.

Severus nodded and gave her his weakest smile before practically slamming the door in her face.

An hour later he heard a knock on the door and allowed a young woman, who was carrying some equipment, entrance. "This better not hurt." Severus glared at her and hoped she understood.

"Oh, Mr Snape, I assure you, this will not hurt at all."

"Very well, do get on with it then; I have somewhere I need to be later this evening." Now Severus was regretting his decision. What had he been thinking? He should never have let Albus get to him like that.

"It certainly is beautiful this time of year, and without the vast numbers of the summer months, this is an ideal time to visit here. Oh, if you would please change into this robe, we will begin, Mr Snape," said the girl, who had none of the looks of the other girl, but just as much determination and cheerfulness.

Severus nodded and then sighed rather loudly, put upon; he would have to get someone who wanted to chat him up. "I do not do small talk and would prefer to use this time to sleep, so if you would forego the niceties of having chit chat, I'd greatly appreciate that."

The girl allowed a slight frown, as if he had burst her bubble. "As you wish, Mr Snape."

Five minutes later, Snape was clad only in the white terry-cloth bathrobe and his boxers, and after removing the bathrobe he lay down on the table that had been set up. He immediately closed his eyes and emptied his mind as he heard the masseuse return to the room.

Feeling soft hands gently massaging his shoulders, Severus felt as the tension began to leave his body. A few minutes later the gentleness became a bit rougher, but still felt quite good; he could feel his muscles being freed from the stress he had been under. The woman had been right: this masseuse was indeed very good at what she did.

He felt like moaning as the hands began to work their way down his back, and did allow a slight cry to escape as he heard small cracking noises, letting him know that his kinks were being slowly worked out. Perhaps he'd have to begin doing this weekly. As private as he was, he could certainly stand to indulge in this one pleasure – he had so few others.

This was heaven, and Severus never wanted this feeling to stop. No one had ever touched him before – to bring pleasure to him – and he was overcome with the sheer bliss from the hands currently massaging his waist, so much so that he found himself desiring those talented hands to go lower, to give him the true sense of pleasure he knew they could. But whom was he kidding? This was a massage and nothing more. Besides, one look at his face, and the other would definitely run the other way. He was Severus Snape, undesirable and undeserving of love.

"Do you need me to massage your front as well, or is the back all you will be wanting done this evening?"

Snape froze. One-thousand miles he had traveled. So how was it that one Harry James Potter had ended up as his masseuse? Severus swallowed. He would never hear the end of this. He closed his eyes and banged his head down on the table.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Severus was at a loss for what he should do. Potter couldn't know it was him – he wasn't that good an actor. Severus wanted so very badly to somehow extricate himself from the situation, but there was no way to do that, so reluctantly… very reluctantly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and glared at the open-mouthed young man standing in front of him. "Close your mouth, Potter. I will not be needing my front done, thank you very much. I'll ask you to leave now."

After a minute had passed and Harry hadn't moved, Severus spoke, much quieter than before. "See something you like, Potter?" Snape rolled his eyes. Yes, the boy-wonder would want him... right. "Speak, Potter," his voice now forceful, much more like his classroom voice.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go; I have another appointment in ten minutes," said a wild-eyed Harry Potter.

Severus watched as an obviously nervous Potter gathered everything and left the room without as much as a glance at him. _Yes, see there? They run from me, even Potter, the one person who probably craves love more than I._

As shaken up as that experience had left him, Snape did feel more relaxed than he had in years, however, and as difficult as it was to admit, it was thanks to Potter; the boy had extraordinary skills. But why was he working here? He most definitely did not need the money. He easily had more money than anyone else did in the wizarding world. This perplexed Severus, but then again, Potter had always been an enigma.

Showering and dressing, Severus decided to go for another walk on the beach. He really did spend far too much time cooped up in his dungeons, but that was the only place he truly felt at ease: when down there he didn't have to be happy and he didn't have to carry on fake banter with anyone.

Walking downstairs, he smiled at a few of the families who passed him on their way inside from their day's activities, and actually allowed a small laugh to escape as a small girl came running through the doors with a sand dollar, holding it out for everyone to see. _Such innocence; how wonderful it must be to be a carefree child._

The beach was almost completely empty: only a few people, from University, Severus guessed, were congregated near the water. Headed in the opposite direction, Severus breathed deeply and inhaled the fresh air. It was dusk and the moon was beaming its light over the water as the white-capped waves continued rolling to shore. Severus found a bench and sat down, enjoying the serenity he felt here. He only wished his life could be reflective of this, yet it never had, nor would it ever.

He continued looking out over the water and could see off in the distance the large ships that were out to sea. Hearing a noise, he turned to see what it was and his breath caught in his throat. Harry Potter was walking towards him, and he was crying.

"Potter? What ever are you crying for?" asked a befuddled Severus. Leave it to Potter to be all emotional.

"You," said Harry as he wiped at a tear. "You weren't supposed to ever see me again. That is why I came here; I knew it would be the last place you would ever choose to frequent."

Well well. What was this about? "You do know me well, then, Mr Potter, and you are quite correct: If not for Albus, I can assure you that I would have never set foot in this place. But what is this nonsense about me never seeing you again?"

"You're going to make me explain everything to you, aren't you?"

Poor Poor Potter… so put upon. "That would be an affirmative." Severus watched as Harry came and sat down next to him on the bench. Severus smirked. He hadn't asked him to sit. It seemed that Potter had possibly grown up somewhat.

"I never wanted to see you again after I finished school, Snape. You treated me so badly, and hated me, and that never changed. I thought maybe after we killed Voldemort things would be different, but they never were. I tried so hard to be your friend, but you never let me in. So, when I left Hogwarts, I removed you from my mind and decided to forget you."

"And I am guessing you have been unsuccessful in that endeavor?" asked a now intrigued Severus. He had an inkling where this might be leading and he wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he kept his face neutral. Whatever this was, Potter was going to have to work for whatever it was he was after.

"You could say that, yeah. Why did you hate me so much, Snape?"

Severus watched as Harry took off his glasses and cleaned them on his purple shirt with the resort logo on it. It was much-too-tight for him, but it looked quite pleasing against the tanned skin. Not wishing to dwell on that thought, Severus shook his head. He could not afford this line of thinking. "It was quite simple really; I thought you had everything I had always craved, Potter."

"I never had anything, Snape, except for adulation for something I had no power over. I had the eyes of every wizard and witch glued to me it seemed, except the ones from the only person I wanted to look at me," said Harry, his voice now soft and sad.

Severus took a deep breath and furrowed his brows. Yes, he had assumed correctly. How very convenient that Harry Potter would be the one. It was horrible, awful, completely hideous… and absolutely mind-boggling. "Potter, why would you care about what I thought of you?" A leading question, no doubt, and Severus couldn't wait for the answer.

"Why? Why Snape? Because since the end of sixth year, I've been in love with you, that's why," Harry said, running each of the words together.

Oh. He hadn't expected that. Severus opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Trying again, he forced himself to continue. "You? Potter, so you are telling me you are in love with me?" This was so very wrong.

"Yeah, Snape, that is what I'm saying. Believe me, I didn't mean for this to happen, it just did, and it won't go away."

Ah yes, but this was not at all a surprise. A bit of his building confidence began to wane. "So, you are ashamed to be in love with me. Now, that sounds more like the Potter I know." But then the look that Harry gave him gave him a bit of hope. Not much, but a bit.

"No, Snape, why would I be ashamed to be in love with the one person who gives a damn about me? It is what you thought of me that made me so sad. I was the boy wonder, as you called me. What would you ever want with me? And, I also know you don't like me being the one who gets all of the attention, and if you and I were together, you know how it would be."

Severus reached out his hand and lifted Harry's face so they were looking into each other's eyes. "What do you see in me worth having? And please call me Severus."

"Okay, Severus, but you have to call me Harry. What do I see in you worth having? Everything about you is what I see worth having. I don't just like part of you, or want just part of you. I love all of you, Severus. I am sorry to put you in this position, but I can't help it, it's how I feel. I know it's completely mad, but there you have it," Harry finished, shrugging his shoulders.

"So, you would want to see where this goes?" Severus still couldn't believe this. Would he wake up and find out this had been a dream, or a nightmare?

"Only if you do, Severus."

He was damned. Harry Potter would never leave his mind, but perhaps that was the way it should be. Severus made his decision, but he made sure his face was blank. He was not at all happy about this. Perhaps in a few hours he'd be very happy about it, but now was not that time. "I think that could be arranged. I think for now, you should return to your apartment or wherever you live and we will talk more in the morning when we are both fully awake. We can meet for breakfast."

"Okay."

Severus shook his head and looked up at the sky. "Oh Merlin, Harry Potter is in love with me?"

"Now you'll never be able to get rid of me," Harry said, grinning.

"Perhaps that's the way it should be, then. Perhaps I am destined to be forever linked with you."

"I hope so, Severus."

"Me too, Harry. Now off with you. I don't want to be eating breakfast with a grumpy wizard in the morning." Then the slightly taller Severus bent down and gently met the rosy lips of Harry's with his own. It did not last long and never deepened, but it was a beginning. He watched as Harry slowly backed away and turned to go back to his apartment, then heard him yelling something.

"You better go to bed as well, Severus, I sure don't look forward to eating breakfast with a grumpy old man."

~ Finis ~


End file.
